198 VOYAGES OF A NATURALIST 



panying photograph was taken are in my posses- 

 sion and are crumbling with age. 



Caves were seen and the stone houses ex- 

 amined, during our visit, by Major Wilbraham, 

 who has kindly supplied me with the following 

 short description of them, and the carvings they 

 contain. It is much to be regretted that, owing 

 to the short time available, Major Wilbraham 

 did not have sufficient opportunity to make an 

 even more thorough examination. In company 

 with Doctor Macdonald he spent a night ashore, 

 as guest of the overseer, Mr. Cooper, and the 

 following are extracts from his journal : 



" March 13th. Macdonald and I got up early 

 and rode to the top of the crater, which is called 

 on the map Rano Kao. This is perfectly circular, 



Fig. 3. Plan of stone house at the lip of the crater of 



Rano Kao. 



seven hundred feet deep, and two and a half miles 

 round, while the bottom is covered by a marsh. 

 Part of the way down the crater are a series of cliffs 



